Olight i2 EOS

Olight seems to have a desire to see a flashlight in every person’s pocket. Their i series is definitely an attempt to make quality attainable. Can this one be chalked up as a success or simply a learning experience?

Olight i2 EOS

Meat and Potatoes

Sharing the family name with the i1, the i2 EOS brings even greater accessibility to this platform by utilizing what very well may be the worlds most common portable power source, the AA cell. This concession makes this torch almost impossible NOT to find a battery for, even in a pinch. Almost everyone has an old AA laying around half dead in some piece of electronics somewhere in their house. The fact that it runs on only one cell makes it even more viable since you are not troubled with matching battery voltages or capacities. Any old AA will work.

The i2 EOS shares more than just the family name though. It is obviously a sibling in more than just nomenclature. The machine work and basic design are the same through and through. They have the same quality of construction and thick appearing anodizing. They even both share the same basic steel clip design. The good thing about the i2 however is that since the body is longer to accommodate the larger cell, the clip gets to be longer as well. Olight wasn’t content to simply create a one size fits all component, but rather individualized these lights to better cater to their strengths. Where the i1 clip was a little too short to be of too much use, the i2 is far better suited to the rim of a pocket.

The i2 utilizes the Cree XP-G LED in its business end, combining it with a narrower, textured reflector to create a fantastically useful flood beam. Its spot isn’t tightly focused and has a moderate transitional corona spreading out into a wide and bright spill beam. This spread is an excellent pattern for an EDC style light such as this. Most often, I have found, these lights have a tendency to be needed for short range illumination far more than distance. The i2 accomplishes that very adequately.

Cree XP-G

Olight has chosen to use a lower output as the maximum compared to many 1xAA lights on the market. The High mode is only 70 lumens in a world where 140+ is a relatively common occurrence. This does have its advantages however, allowing the light to run for a claimed hour and a half out of that insignificant cell. Medium and low modes further expand the usefulness by providing up to 2.5 days of enough light to find a keyhole in the dark, or navigate the house during the night.

Constructive Criticism

Sharing the same genetics as the Olight i1, it is reasonable to assume that my points of criticism would be similar. In fact, they are identical. Point number 1 is once again the propensity of the i2 to be a bit of a mode skipper. The threading on this light is often loose enough that it will result in an accidental activation before you have the head tightened enough to consistently complete the circuit. This will result in ending up one or even occasionally two modes further than you truly intended, which coupled with the L-M-H mode sequence means you have a much brighter output than was your original design. This is mostly alleviated by being more deliberate or two handed with your activation technique, but it would be nice not to have to think about it at all.

Point two is, also as you would expect, the keyring/lanyard attachment. Once again this attachment point is limited to a very narrow angle, protruding from the side of the body of the i2 with no ability to hang directly from the end. This is a limiting factor for both lanyard AND keychain use, though I personally find AA lights to still be a little large for my keychain. This would be a relatively simple correction to accomplish at the initial manufacturing stage, but it would be a major improvement in the usefulness of the light.

Olight i2 EOS

Conclusions

An excellent little light that is easy to carry and does a decent job fulfilling its intended role. It may not be a perfect light, but add in the easy access price tag that comes with it and you have a torch that is very hard to turn down.